I was perusing a recent favorite blog and came across this little slice of genius. Being a Gmail, Google+, Blogger, Maps, Calendar, GoogleDocs, GoogleVoice and Picasa user...this gave me quite the snicker...

All my current Google addictions are already integrated and all incestuous like, why not add the current state of disarray that is my romantic life into the mix?

Actually, why hasn't Google started a dating service? Doesn't that seem like all too convenient? It already knows who I talk to, who emails me, what I buy, where I go, what I photograph, what my (blog) thoughts are and what I'm doing? Can't it just deliver a man to me?

This is the second time this week that I've been a little behind the curve, but I'm glad I'm making that curve my B today! I've been meaning to get on the bandwagon, and I've finally done it.

I'm PINNING... And, boy am I pinning. I spent a slow day at the office yesterday pinning up a storm. I'm completely, totally, utterly addicted to Pinterest. It's my own personal, stylish, beautiful crackrock. You all were right about Pinterest. It's the total tits. And that's a phrase I reserve for the truly worthy.

With Labor Day, football season and Fall (yes, it's true. I saw pumpkins and Halloween candy at the grocery store yesterday...What?!?) upon us, I feel the summer slipping away. The heat has been awful, so I'm ready for a change, but I'm not ready to trade in my summer wardrobe. I love sandals, little dresses, brights. So, just to grasp one last time at summery bright colors that I'm drooling over...here's some stuff that I'm dreaming about today:

I have no place to wear a hot pink Halston dress, but love.

Oh hey, neckline. Thanks for comin' to the party.

This summer the maxi has become my friend. It's kind of my muffin top crutch. oops.

I want this blouse...like now. I'd wear the S out of that.

Jumpers don't do me any favors (can you say 'perpetual camel toe'?), but I'm in love with this one.

Interesting/surprising color combo. Me iz obsessed.

This could literally go with anything you own. Want.

Ah, daydreams, how I love you. Thanks for the linkup Michelle! If you aren't already, go follow me on Pinterest! I'd love it very much! Happy Wednesday!

Last night, during Bachelor Pad (which, btw, is ROCKING MY WORLD this season. Hi, there is no crazy like that of the Melissa. I'll miss her.) they announced the new cast for Season 13 of Dancing With the Stars! I only like DWTS in the beginning when all the crappy dancers are on there. It's kind of like how American Idol starts to suck when it's only down to the talented ones.

This year's group looks solid enough for m to tune in! The cast is really quite a collection of characters.

Here are my thoughts...

Ricki Lake (42, actress and talk-show host) She could be awesome. I always thought she was really funny. I hope this springboards her back to fame. She was previously in Hairspray (the musical) so maybe she has a leg up.

Ron Artest (31, NBA star) The obligatory "contestant for men to root for", I'm not that interested. But, isn't he kind of a big deal in basketball?

Kristin Cavallari (24, former star of Laguna Beach and The Hills) Why do we allow her to continue to be famous. WHY?!

Chynna Phillips (43, pop singer) I hope she can hold on for more than one more day. They better get her dancing to this sweetass jam (which is in my head HARDCORE now):

David Arquette (39, actor) Can we now properly, and officially declare his career over?

Carson Kressley (41, TV personality and style expert) DIVA. He could be giggly.

Nancy Grace (51, HLN host and legal commentator) I feel awful for her partner. She has the potential to be really mean and and even worse dancer. Kirstie Alley without the humor.

J.R. Martinez (28, Army vet and All My Children star) I love a survivor story. He's my early pick. Read his inspirational story here.

Hope Solo (U.S. soccer player) I expect hotness but a certain amount of "lady athlete with two left feet" syndrome. Also, why isn't she practicing soccer?

Rob Kardashian (24, Keeping Up With the Kardashians star) Early prediction: He's going to sleeze hard on whoever his partner is. Also, the Kardashian sisters will appear in the audience often.

Elisabetta Canalis (32, Italian actress, George Clooney's ex-girlfriend) Snooze. Going on a program notoriously for washed up has-beens.... she really showed George.

Chaz Bono (42, son of Cher and Sonny Bono) I have a lot of questions. This could be trainwreck television at it's finest. CAN'T. WAIT.

Well, that's the skinny on the DWTS situation. Thoughts? Who are you most excited to see? DON'T YOU DARE say Kristin Cavallari. Don't even think about it.

So last night I finally watched the VMA awards. Yes, this is a day late, forgive me. I have some thoughts about the fashions and other happenings....

1. Beyonce Baby news is the best thing to happen to me in a long time.

2. Lady 'Jo Calderone' Gaga weirds me out. It weirds me out hard. I'm for the gaga-esque gender maleability, but this was just odd. She didn't break character once. It was strange to hear Gaga voice coming out of man body. I can't make up my mind about it. I hope this doesn't become like a thing now. That Gaga, what will she/he think of next?

3. The Britney Spears tribute was a complete and total mindF...in a good way. It was costumes and snippets of all her best peformances:

Yes, folks, my dreams are finally coming true. I've been waiting for this day a long time. I've been on my own personal Beyonce bump watch since they got married three years ago (by the way, their wedding anniversary is on MY BIRTHDAY!). We've speculated about this before, but lord, help us, it's TRUE THIS TIME. I'm freaking out.

I have my suspicions about the little powersparklenugget in her belly. I have a feeling this is a celebuspawn like we've never seen before. This kid is going to beat up Suri on the playground. Those Jolie-Pitts are about to look like white (or whatever color) trash. They better lock up those precious little Affleck girls, because this one is coming for their fame, and there's no stopping it. CAN'T. WAIT.

Well folks, we've finally done it. Here in beautiful Austin, TX we've broken a RIDICULOUS record for heat. Today, we are on our 70th day of triple-digit temperatures this year. People have been talking all summer about breaking this record and the day is finally here. Now, maybe we can quit talking about it and focus on cooler days ahead. Probably not going to happen.

The record was set 86 freaking years ago. We can now all say we'e lived through the hottest summer on record. WHAT. THE. HELL. Literally.

The better news? It looks like we're going to blow that record out of the water:

We're going to smash through the record like the Kool-Aid Man:

How awesome are those little fireballs? I feel like those are lurking in every corner around town. I wonder what the need for the tongues is? I wonder where I can get some Kool-Aid to destroy the invisible fireballs all around me?...like asap.

But for serious, there's nothing "kool" about this situation. Not even Kool with a K. The heat is blistering. Outdoor activites are nearly impossible. I'm sweating like Angus over here. There's a serious drought causing animals to die and wildfires to break out.

For real though, livestock dropping dead and random fires. I can't help but have apocalyptic thoughts....

Officially over it I hope wherever you are you're Kooler than me. You have to be.

So I want to recap/run down a few things that I've been soaking up lately.....

Book: One Day

I've just started it, and am only around a quarter of the way through, but I'm fascinated. It follows the relationship of two people over the course of 20 years, but only discusses one day, the same day (July 15) of each year.

Have any of you read this? Any thoughts? Please no spoilers!

Television: The Kennedys

This weekend, in my productivity hurricane, I watched this entire mini-series on Netflix. It's 8 45-minute episodes that trace the history of the Kennedy family for more than 30 years. I love real, life tales of drama, scandal, intrigue. It made me annoyed that many of the famouses we get to enjoy today don't have the prestige and glamour of this political family.

Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes (playing JFK and Jackie) were genius, but really the character of Robert "Bobbie" Kennedy fascinated me more. I had no idea what a dynamic power player he was in those days. I was practically glued to all the episodes. While its a scandaly, juicy piece of goodness, I kind of felt like it was educational. I highly recommend you check it out.

Movie: The Help

Lots of people are blogging/talking about it. I thought it was fantastic. Emma Stone was great, but the ladies cast at the maids really stole the show. I loved it, but I left the movie really unsettled about this strange chapter in American history. It made me wonder what relationship my Southern family had to the Civil Rights movement and domestic employees. I intend to do some digging on that front....Favorite thing from the movie:

Got any good recommendations for Books/Movies/Television I should investigate? I'm on kind of a media absorption spree right now...

Today my heart goes out to all my teacher friends. In alot of places it's the first day of school. I know several of you teachers in the blog world, some BFFs in the real world, heck, even my momma!

A part of me has a spiteful smirk about all of you having to get back to work after a summer of relaxation, but really I'm just feeling nostalgic about the whole back to school experience. I remember the nervousness of first day. I love an annual fresh start. I should try to replicate it in my adult life.

There are some of the things I really miss about school days:

First day butterflies. In high school I think about my outfit for weeks. Recently I was headed out for the night and tried on around 7825416 outfits. I guess not much has changed on that front.

Best pals all around. One of my favorite memories of high school is getting to gab with my friends throughout the day. I loved the between-classes, 5-minute gossip summit every day. I guess I still sort of do that with my favorites via internet during the work day, but not the same.

Backpacks. I love a backpack. I wish I could carry one around with me everyday. I guess I could, but I'm trying to be a marginally attractive adult female.

School supplies. Fresh pencils, notebooks and markers have always excited me.I have a feeling times have changed a little:

Summer and winter breaks. Enough said.

Also, some of my favorite cinematic nuggets take place in schools:

On a related note, a recent favorite teacher, who I know in the real world, always begins a new semester with a joke. This was the choice for today:

I'm fresh off of a very liberating weekend. I got a RIDICULOUS amount of things done. And got in some quality me time.

Here's the deal. My roommate and alot of my friends were out of town. Both nights (Friday and Saturday) I found friends to visit with, because, come on, a Saturday night at home alone just makes me sad. But, both nights, I was home sober and cuddly in bed before midnight. Also, atypical.

I spent two full days by myself. This is something I've been avoiding since I haven't had manfriend. When alone, I melt down. Might seem pathetic, but that's just how I deal. I have to stay distracted. This weekend, I made up my mind to just be alone, wake up early, be productive and make all responsible choices. Hi, just thinking about doing that is a corner turned for me.

This might seem a little dependent to some of you, but it's a big deal for me. So, I made a list and executed. I completed a couple projects around my house, got a couple workouts in, ran errands, watched an entire mini series, started a new book (what the hell?) and ate pretty healthy all weekend! I'm really proud.

There was a moment or two when the sads creeped up, but mostly, I just basked in the me-ness of my couple of days. Yesterday I went to layout at Barton Springs Pool...

I was there, just little old me, and forgot my headphones. I realized this after I paid to get in, so I spent 2 hours just laying. Thinking. Looking around. Some light texting. People watching. It was actually lovely...hot as all get-out, but lovely. I treated myself to a snow cone on my way out and it was absolutely perfect. I never let myself have sugary treats like that.

So, I'm here to report that I think I did a tiny bit of growing up these last couple of days. I was nervous about totally de-railing, but it was honestly a milestone reached. It's sort of a weird, small, selfish thing that I'm so proud to have done. My nugget of wisdom gained:

The prince is super depressed without our roommates, but I'm loving that he's forced to cuddle only me. Maybe that's why I'm so euphoric about the weekend...puppy affections all to myself.

Stay tuned, we'll see how next weekend goes. I expect to be fiending for some debauchery by then.... Let's be serious people, two weekends in a row? I don't think so.

This is a new linkup I'm giving a whirl, called Currently... with Jenn at Perfectly Imperfect. I'm trying to reach out to new blogs/linkups/cyber friends and Jenn's blog is really cute and she's an Austinite....YES! Here goes...

current book(s):
Embarassingly, I'm not really reading at the moment. I"m thinking of starting either the Hunger Games series or the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. Thoughts? Recommendations? I really need to get back reading.

current playlist:
Stars ~ The xx
Pieces of What ~ MGMT
We Own the Sky ~ m83
Starstruck ~ Santigold
(these are the first 4 on my current iTunes Genius mix)

current color:

Essie's Mint Candy Apple

current drink:
Starbucks Skinny Vanilla Latte. It's a special treat for me. I'm typically a home brewer.

current food:
At this moment? scrambled eggs with cheese, onion and red pepper. Go-to breakfast.

current favorite show:
Jersey Shore. Duh. I haven't seen last night's yet.

current wishlist:
Amazon Kindle. I think it will get me reading more again.

current needs:
ACL Three-Day Pass. Know of anyone selling?

current triumphs:
Jillian Michaels has been busting my ass. But, that's only because I've stuck to the plan. I'm feeling pretty strong about my current get skinny campaign.

current bane(s) of my existence:
The heat. Oh, the heat. My roommate affectionately refers to it as "The Devil's Taint." I haven't heard a more accurate description. We're on like our 65th day of over 100-degree heat here in Austin. Ridiculous.

current celebrity crush:
the men of Glee...

I'm in the middle of watching the entire series on Netflix. I hadn't ever seen the first season and am LOVING it. Hi, I think I need more Noah Puckerman in my life...or in my mouth. Whatever.

current #1 blessing:
My sweet Austin friends. I've lately been so thankful for the few key people in my world who've made my transition seamless and fun. I don't know what I'd do without my little network of BFFs here.

current indulgence:
Hmm...I can't really think of anything. I guess I'd have to say wine. I'm on a serious calorie restriction at the moment and any special treats I let myself have seem to be liquid. Worse things have happened, right?

current outfit:
I work at home alone all day. Let's just say there's nothing cute going on with my outfit at the moment. I've been trying to force myself to wear pants with a proper waistband everyday (like not gym shorts/PJs), but it's not going so great. Ooops.

current excitement:
A plan-less weekend. Lately I've been really enjoying the pace of my life being nice and calm. I hope to get in some exercise, get some sun and play with the Prince at the lake. At this moment he's getting his hair did. I got him a nice short summer hairdo, which mean's he'll be cool for weekend adventures.

current mood:
Sleepy after two weeknights in a row of being social. I've got to spread around my activities a little more. But, I feel happy and thankful that I have friends around me who always want to do fun things.

Before we begin, the soundtrack and namesake for this post has been provided by Lil Mama. This song is a classic in my little world. Pure, gratuitous, girl rap...about lip gloss. Does it really get any better?

Alright, on to the point....I recently went on a Sephora spree (oops) and came out of there with some new lip products that I'm addicted to.

Smith's Rosebud Salve in a TUBE

I love this classic. It soothes chapped lips, gives a little shine, smells great and is very affordable ($7!) Previously, this little diddy only came in a small metal can thingy and you had to get your finger all gooey to get it out. I've now learned that this magic juice also "calms and heals irritation, soothes the sting of minor burns, helps heal cuts, tames mangled cuticles, helps fix ashy elbows and knees, and minimizes diaper rash." Holy hell. The tube is where it's at. Buy here.

Smashbox O Gloss

This is one of those glosses that "adjusts" or "guesses" your natural lip tone. I was skeptical. I give a major side eye to a cosmetic product that claims to have a brain. I stand corrected. The internet claims it contains "Goji Berry-C Complex™, ginkgo biloba, and pomegranate seed antioxidants along with revitalizing marine botanicals and moisturizing avocado oil." WOW, there's like a whole rainforest in there. The gloss comes out clear and in a few minutes has morphed into a clear pinkish hue that always seems perfect. I don't know if I want to know how this voodoo magic works, but me likey. Buy here.

NARS Lip Gloss in Easy Lover

First of all, it's called "Easy Lover." Is that about me, or a prospective catch? I don't know and don't care. We all know NARS makes good stuff, but this one is going to be a go-to. It seems really bright, but it comes rolls on as just a tint of pink. I do like a hot pink lip, but this is suitable for everyday. LOVING. I've almost used it up...guess that's the way it goes with an Easy Lover. Buy here.

Today I'm linking up with Jaime for What I'm Loving Wednesday. Today I'm going to focus on some pretty mundane everyday life type of items that have been rocking my socks off lately. It's the little things.

Taking Care of Business

This week I've been a to-do list crossing off fiend. Like in a weirdly, uncharacteristically productive way. These are all the things that have been crossed off:

I do this. Every quarter or so I panic that I'm wasting away my life. So, I make a list and execute. Then it's back to three months of dicking around. Don't think for one second that this is a habit. But today, I'm still high on gettin' 'er done...and I'm loving it.

Central Market and HEB

I've been back in Austin for around 2 months now and I'm reveling in the awesomeness that is both of these stores. Both are south/central Texas chains (HEB isn't in Dallas and Central Market was way out of the way), so you might not know them if you're from somewhere else. But, and this is very old housewife of me, they're grocery stores that I'm totes loving. HEB is super affordable and has great produce. Central Market is just a veritable schmorgasborg of delicious/unique eats. I've always enjoyed the grocery store, but I'm loving having these two back in my routine. I've heard Trader Joes is coming to Austin, so I may be singing another tune when that comes. Officially geeked out.

Jillian Michaels
This time I've stuck to the whole "Ripped in 30" plan. I'm mid-way through my third of 4 weeks and I'm loving it. Every time it's a challenge, I'm sweaty and I'm sore the next day. This DVD has FAR exceeded my expectations for in-home exercise. With hell ankle and extreme heat wave, I'm sort of forced to do the home exercise thing. I've been pleasantly surprised. I don't know what I'm going to do when it's over...

The water body formerly known as Town Lake
I've been a walking, jogging, dog playing machine lately. It's as hot as balls, but I'm reveling in the splendor that is trees, hills and watering holes:

These don't exist in as much abundance (or any) in Dallas. I finally have gotten myself into a little outdoor Austin routine that is just working for me. And the prince. He's all of a sudden a swimmer this summer:

This is a totally new thing. In the past he's found water too dirty, too annoying and too bourgeois. It's like the heat beat the priss right out of that little Prince.

Cherries
They're in season and have been on mega sale. I've been gorging myself on them. I can't get enough. I worry I'm going to eat the pits and stems I nom on them so hard. I love them so much.